Erie Explosion
The Erie Explosion is a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion have played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the Southern Indoor Football League, the Continental Indoor Football League and the American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015.
Franchise history
2007
The Explosion began play in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania.
The RiverRats played their first game at Tupelo, Mississippi on February 3, 2007, losing 54-34 to the Mississippi Mudcats. Their first home game was on February 18, 2007 which they lost 35-28 to the Reading Express. Pittsburgh won its first home game on March 4, 2007, defeating the Danville Demolition 47-21. On May 19, 2007, the RiverRats set an AIFA single-game record when they scored 86 points.
2008: Moving to Erie
On January 8, 2008 the RiverRats announced they would be relocating to Erie in time for the 2008 season, rebranding themselves as the Erie RiverRats. They replaced the city's previous AIFA team, the Erie Freeze.
